LinguaA thing and a person take different endings
In the last lesson every masculine noun that named a thing stayed exactly as it was. A masculine noun that names a living being does not: as the object it adds -а, or -я when the word ends in a soft sign or -й. Russian sorts every noun into living and non-living, and this is the first place it shows.
Feminine nouns do not split: сестра names a person and still turns into сестру, the same way книга turns into книгу. Only the masculine column has two rules.
| Dictionary form | As the object | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| брат | брата | brother |
| друг | друга | friend |
| врач | врача | doctor |
| сосед | соседа | neighbour |
| учитель | учителя | teacher |
The three questions side by side
Keep the columns apart by the question you would ask. Что? takes the bare dictionary form for a thing, Кого? adds -а for a person, and О ком? is the old -е you already know after о.
| A thing – Что? | A person – Кого? | The topic – О ком? |
|---|---|---|
| Я вижу дом | Я вижу брата | Я думаю о брате |
| Я жду автобус | Я жду друга | Я думаю о друге |
| Я знаю город | Я знаю врача | Я думаю о враче |
| Я люблю парк | Я люблю соседа | Я думаю о соседе |
The pronouns have object forms too
You cannot repeat the name of a person in every sentence, so the pronouns carry their own object forms. They are short, they never take a preposition after a plain verb, and you will hear them in every conversation.
| Subject | Object | Who it means |
|---|---|---|
| я | меня | the speaker |
| ты | тебя | the person spoken to informally |
| он | его | a man or a masculine thing |
| она | её | a woman or a feminine thing |
| мы | нас | the speaker and others |
| вы | вас | the people spoken to politely |
| они | их | other people |
Я жду друга и сестру.I am waiting for my friend and my sister.
Кого вы видите? – Я вижу врача.Whom do you see? – I see the doctor.
Words in this lesson
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| видеть | to see | Я редко вижу брата. I rarely see my brother. |
| знать | to know | Мы хорошо знаем соседа. We know our neighbour well. |
| ждать | to wait for | Она ждёт врача. She is waiting for the doctor. |
| любить | to love | Дети любят сестру. The children love their sister. |
| брат | brother | Мой брат работает в больнице. My brother works in a hospital. |
| друг | friend | Друг живёт рядом. My friend lives nearby. |
| врач | doctor | Наш врач очень хороший. Our doctor is very good. |
| сосед | neighbour | Сосед слушает музыку. The neighbour is listening to music. |
| студент | student | Студент читает книгу. The student is reading a book. |
| сестра | sister | Сестра сейчас дома. My sister is at home now. |
Exercises
This lesson has 10 exercises in the app:
- multiple choice: 3
- match the pairs: 1
- fill the gap: 2
- build the sentence: 1
- translate the sentence: 2
- listen and type: 1
Try the first one
A man says that he sees his brother. Which sentence is correct?
The answer, the other exercises, the audio and your progress are in the app – free at A0 and A1.